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Thinking of upgrading

I bought a Byer Moskito hammock last year to try hammocking out "on the cheap" and found it to be not so comfortable. From all I've seen and read here and on Youtube, it seems that people rave about the comfort of hammocks, so I have a few questions.

1. Would upgrading to a Warbonnet Blackbird make a big difference in the comfort or is hammock sleeping very similar from hammock to hammock?

2. For those of you who use the double with a closed cell foam pad, does that keep you warm enough for most 3-season hiking? (still trying to avoid paying out big $$$ for underquilt and such)

In terms of the top, I'm going to just use my current Sierra Designs 20deg bag - again to try to save $. The hammock I'm eyeing is the BB 1.1. I'm 6'1" and weigh in at 180lbs.

I think you will be pleased with the BB ...... if not. it is easy to re-sell on here.
The pads will do you just fine....I used pads a long time and was always just fine.
Use the bag like a quilt.....
My opinion and 1¢ worth.
Shug

I bought a Byer Moskito hammock last year to try hammocking out "on the cheap" and found it to be not so comfortable. From all I've seen and read here and on Youtube, it seems that people rave about the comfort of hammocks, so I have a few questions.

1. Would upgrading to a Warbonnet Blackbird make a big difference in the comfort or is hammock sleeping very similar from hammock to hammock?

2. For those of you who use the double with a closed cell foam pad, does that keep you warm enough for most 3-season hiking? (still trying to avoid paying out big $$$ for underquilt and such)

In terms of the top, I'm going to just use my current Sierra Designs 20deg bag - again to try to save $. The hammock I'm eyeing is the BB 1.1. I'm 6'1" and weigh in at 180lbs.

Any guidance/help is appreciated.

1. maybe? it IS possible that hammocks just aren't for you. But, if you buy a Blackbird and it doesn't work, you can sell it here for a minimal loss
2. CCF pads will work for nearly all 3 season hiking.

and your choice in BB seems correct

give it a try...no real risk, IMO

"Every day is a new day to a better future" "Of all the things that matter, that really and truly matter, working more efficiently and getting more done is not among them." ~ Mike Dooley"What if I told you that you couldn't have anymore of anything... No more friends, no more money, no more anything, until you first got happy with what you have?"~ Mike Dooley"The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing." ~ Socrates

Your lack of comfort in your present hammock could be due to a number of things. Perhaps the way you have it hung could be the problem. As a relatively new hanger myself, I've found that it takes some trial & error to fine tune your hang so that you get the max comfort. Are you laying on the diagonal in the hammock, or more down the center? This has a huge affect on comfort. It could be that your hammock just doesn't fit you very well, and trying another type/brand might just be the ticket to comfort. I'm not familiar with the Byer hammock, but at 6'1" you might need a longer/wider hammock. The only way to find out is to try another hammock. The WBBB and the Switchback are two with attached nets that people seem to like a lot. Both would re-sell in a heartbeat if you don't like them. You could also try a Trek Light, Eno, or WB Traveler if you wanted to spend a little less $$ and still get a really nice hammock. The one thing I've learned on HF since I started hanging, is that it can take some time to get your set-up just right. Everybody is different.
KJ

Brought a bayer hammock, liked it....didnt like the suspension, didnt know much about hammocks but next day took it back to rei and got an eno double...love it...does seem the more you for commercial(not diy) pay the more comfortable it is from my experience...and people rave about the blackbird, they use hammocks too so it must be good

J uststarted using pads too...huge difference, if u cant afford an underquilt would reccomend them...work much better with double layer hammocks in my opinion though

It sometimes takes practise

I did not sleep very well first nights (it actually took about 7 nights), it feels so unnatural to sleep while hanging. It sometimes still does.

But when one compares hammock sleeping to tent sleeping it is always great to wake up without ache in back, neck, hips and shoulders. And usually hammock is dryer than tent also. And there is more room under hammock tarp than normal tarp or tent, more room for camp activities also. Usually one can do almost everything while hanging in hammock.

The difference to tent sleeping and camp activities was my main motivation to learn how to sleep in hammock.

My first hammock was a simple cheap TickeToTheMoon. After I got that I needed bottom insulation I did order Hennessy. And after I noticed that side opening is better I bought BB. When sleeping in BB was so comfortable I tested the TicketToTheMoon again and was greatly surprised that it was almost more comfortable than BB. This cycle took about 2 years. So probably Your problem is not price or model of the hammock you just need more practice.

It would help if you could qualify in what way you found it "not so comfortable".

Do you hang the foot end a few inches higher than the head end? Some do, some don't... I do, and I regret when I goof up and get it wrong.

Have you experimented with different amounts of sag? Pillow/no pillow? Try to go more diagonal as was previously suggested? Less diagonal?

Did you just not sleep well?

One buddy who tried a hammock stated that he felt like he might fall out. Any anxiety there?

I kinda like that "being hugged" feeling a hammock gives me, some folks don't... if you don't but want to use hammocks you might consider a "bridge" type. If it were me I'd want to get comfy in my existing hammock before I spent money on another.

I am a COMPLETE newbie, but I've lounged around in hammocks for years while tent camping. One thing I recently discovered, somewhere here, or via a link I got here, is that ridgeline length is a critical component of comfort in a hammock. The formula I saw was that the ridgeline length ought to be roughly 83% of the hammock length; So I, who likes to experiment, decided to measure my inexpensive take-anywhere Byer Amazonas hammock and measure it and cut a string ridgeline to 83% of the length just to see if the hammock might be more comfortable (in my basement of course - it was -6F here this morning). What I discovered is that 83% of my hammock length is a much longer, less saggy set-up than I thought it was going to be (and longer than I usually set the hammock up at), and that somewhere around that length was much flatter and more comfortable than less than that length - at least for me.

I don't use a structural ridge. I must be uncomfortable <resumes snoring>

Sorry, didn't mean to imply a ridgeline was necessary. I guess I wasn't very clear - I admitted that I am totally new to this. The point I was trying to make is that since the distance from end to end of the hammock seems to be important to the comfort and flatness of the lay, then if you hang it so that the ends are too close together (high strap angle) you might be folded in half, too far apart (low strap angle) and it's too flat. I merely used that formula and a piece of string to get an idea of what the hammock might need to look like if I were to hang it according to some formula predicting a more or less flat, theoretically comfortable, lay.